Heading to Houston

I'm heading off to Houston tomorrow for the annual Quilt Festival.

I have mixed feelings about where I belong in this show.

It is predominantly a traditional quilt show, and the majority of attendees appear to be looking for quilts recognizable for use on a bed, and they're looking for fabrics, threads, patterns, and gadgets that they may not have seen at their local quilt shops. That's not to say that art quilts are not represented. SAQA always has a large exhibit space and at least one more special exhibit has art quilts for inspiration. But it's a quilt show, and that's very different than a museum or gallery show. That's not a bad thing, it's just that as I personally see my work fitting in to more of the latter, I wonder why I'm so attracted to the former.

As I move beyond just looking at the exhibits to hoping to have work in them, or maybe even to finding other textile-related ways to share my talents, I see many of my peers gravitating less towards the Festival, but to the Quilt Market where new fabrics and other products are introduced to shop owners and the like. It seems more and more to me that's where the real networking and opportunities happen. But I don't think it's where networking for textile art exhibits like I imagine for my work happens.

So what am I looking forward to this weekend? Inspiration! I love a good quilt. I love to see what people do with fabric. This year I have a quilt in the annual Dinner@8 exhibit. That's reason enough to go, as I like to see my work "in situ." I thoroughly enjoyed the year the Twelve by Twelve group I belonged to had an exhibit (photo above). It was great to see our work together and it was fantastic to get to know these internet friends in real life! I'm looking forward to the socializing. I get to spend time with a good friend and experience the show with her. I also enjoy meeting other enthusiasts who I may only know from our mutual blog reading or work admired in other shows. Shows like this one in Houston are also a good chance to volunteer for the organizations we benefit from. I always spend some time at the SAQA table where I not only get to meet other SAQA members, but I get to share it's benefits with potential new members or simply those who admire the variety in SAQA's exhibits.

Even though a quilt show may not be the best venue for my own work, I hope to return energized about textiles in general. And I hope to have made some new connections because you never know what might lead to something interesting.

Art Quilt Elements Reception

Kristin here. I had the great pleasure to attend the opening reception of Art Quilt Elements at the Wayne Art Center in PA this last weekend. I blogged about the weekend on my blog (click on my name to go there), and in the next post on my blog, about my impressions and the juror's talk.

Being one of the preeminent art quilt shows, lots of the artists were there. I always enjoy putting names and artwork together with faces and personalities. There are a few people I keep seeing over and over, like Betty Busby who seems to show up to all the events even though she lives halfway across the country in New Mexico. I spent a lot of time with fellow Virginia artist Julia Pfaff, who I had met previously in North Carolina at a PAQA South/SAQA event. And there are all the new faces to meet.

It seemed like there were a lot of New Yorkers there, and I was pleasantly surprised to meet our very own Benedicte live and in person! I don't know if readers can tell from her blog posts, but Benedicte is bubbly and funny and personable and an absolute pleasure to meet. It was fantastic to see her work in person too. It glows just as much as when viewed on a computer screen.

Of course, seeing anyone's work in person is the main reason to go to exhibits in the first place. I've decided that opening receptions, while not mandatory, are really worth it if it's possible to attend. No need to fly around the world, but if it's near a friend or an easy drive or train ride, it should be done. There's no substitute for seeing the art in the cloth, it's an opportunity to get to meet other (often like-minded) artists, there's a positive buzz that is very validating for an artist, and you never know when someone will be there with a winning certificate or check to hand to you!

Unconventional Venues

This is what I did on Monday. I mounted my drawings and matted them, framed some, added hanging hardware, and put identification labels on the back.

These drawings are destined for a show at our local fine lingerie shop. They like to intersperse the lacy bits with fine art and feature a different artist every month or two. When you think about it, lingerie and nudes actually pair quite nicely.

I also have two textile pieces in a display case at the National Institutes of Health. They have a full time curator who makes sure the walls are filled with high quality, diverse art, both permanent and changing, for patients and visitors to enjoy.

Next month I am also taking my Army Wife series on the road. I will display two quilts and six aprons at a fancy luncheon for the spouses of high ranking officers in all branches of the military. The keynote speaker for this year's luncheon is the author of Army Wives, so my artwork will be a good compliment.

I'm not sure what to expect in sales or other doors opening in these unconventional venues. So far nothing has panned out from the NIH, but at least the work is in public and not under my bed. The lingerie shop has sales potential, which would be great. I don't expect any sales of the artwork at the luncheon, but I do think I'll have an appreciate audience who would not otherwise see their stories in artwork. I'll be bringing catalogs and card sets though, so I hope to be able to sell some of those to remind viewers of my work.